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Welcome to the Sound Science Research Collective. We are a federally recognized 501c(3) marine conservation non-profit dedicated to excellence in research and equity in science. Our team is made up of bioacousticians and ecologists from throughout the United States. We bonded over a common desire to do impactful ecological research and to empower overlooked and disenfranchised scientists to do the same.

Our work is primarily, though not exclusively, centered around using bioacoustics as a tool to understand the natural world and inform conservation problems. We are committed to providing a platform for young researchers and students, and seek collaborations with local communities or early career researchers interested in developing acoustic monitoring projects.

The following projects are currently at the forefront of our research program:

Anthropogenic Noise and the “Anthropause”: investigating the impact of COVID-19 on ocean noise reduction and humpback whale communication

North Atlantic right whale hearing and sound production: reviewing the current state of the field

Call and Response: using acoustic playbacks to experimentally test call function in Alaskan humpback whales

We will update this site and blog frequently as our research unfolds. As a small organization our work is funded on goodwill, hard work, and meaningful relationships. We welcome any donations.
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The Anthropause

Anthropogenic Noise and the “Anthropause”: investigating the impact of COVID-19 on ocean noise reduction and humpback whale communication.

Noise pollution is one of the greatest deterrents to conservation success of marine organisms. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused profound changes in human activities, including substantial decreases in marine tourism, a pervasive noise source. This tourism decrease offers a rare opportunity to investigate how organisms respond to quiet oceans, particularly in locations that are typically inundated with manmade sound. Our goal is to examine changes in acoustic communication in humpback whales in the absence of large commercial vessel traffic in four northern hemisphere locations: Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska, Juneau, Alaska, Massachusetts Bay, and Skjalfandi Bay, Iceland.

This project has three main goals. These goals will be accomplished by using acoustic data collected at four humpback whale foraging grounds during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and comparing it to data collected in 2019, and 2021.

Quantify the decrease in ocean noise in the absence of cruise ships and tour-boat excursions. This will be accomplished by comparing noise levels in 2019, and 2021 to the uniquely quiet 2020 season

Determine if patterns or complexity of acoustic interactions between humpback whales increase during seasons of ocean quiet. It is expected that humpback whale communication will increase in complexity when noise levels are lower.

Quantify differences in ocean noise between managed waterways (Glacier Bay) and unmanaged waterways (Juneau). These analogous locations with shared humpback whale populations allow for a straightforward assessment of management efficacy at reducing anthropogenic noise.

Playback work description

Call and Response: using acoustic playbacks to experimentally test call function in Alaskan humpback whales

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